Toxic Free News

Foodies for Dignity: How You Can Honor
Farmworkers This Harvest Season
by Ana Duncan Pardo
Lea esta artículo en español

Are you passionate about fresh, healthy food? If so, you’re in good company--the folks who make up Toxic Free NC’s supporters, staff, board and volunteer crew are big-time foodies. Many of us are also gardeners or farmers, and we tend to be fanatical about eating food grown locally, without toxic chemicals.

But there’s another aspect to the way we grow food that is critically important to Toxic Free NC, and that’s dignity. Growing and producing the food we eat has long been a dirty, dangerous, difficult and often thankless job.

“It is ironic that those who till the soil, cultivate and harvest the fruits, vegetables, and other foods that fill your tables with abundance have nothing left for themselves.”

César Chávez said it decades ago in California, and it’s true today in North Carolina. According to recent data, nearly half of farm worker families in NC don’t have enough food to put on the table. It’s no wonder. Most farm workers are exempt from minimum wage laws, and all are exempt from overtime pay.

Typical pay for harvesting sweet potatoes in NC is 40¢ per bucket, which means that a worker has to pick and haul two tons of sweet potatoes, bucket by bucket, to earn just $50. In addition to paltry wages and few protections on the job, farm workers and their families often live in deplorable housing conditions.

Shameful conditions harm us all

For nearly 25 years, Toxic Free NC has been spreading the word about how pesticide misuse and over-exposure harms farm workers and their families. The truth is, it hurts the rest of us, too. The same chemicals that harm workers on the job come to us as pollution in our food, water and air. Workers who are empowered to recognize pesticide misuse and speak out also protect us when they act to protect themselves. It is in our own best interest to work for the safety and dignity that farm workers deserve.

In November, Toxic Free NC joined up with our allies in the Farmworker Advocacy Network to call for a new harvest -- a Harvest of Dignity. We’re pushing for safer workplaces and housing, and better enforcement of the laws that currently exist to protect workers from toxic pesticides.

Supporting the campaign

Toxic Free NC Board member Laxmi Haynes sums up why everyone who eats should support this new effort: “We have so many expectations from our food. We expect it to be safe, fresh and nutritious. Many of us want it to be locally grown, without toxic chemicals or fertilizers. We want flavorful, diverse varieties of produce and humane conditions for livestock. We want a fair price and a good living for the farmer who grows it all. When we expect all this from the food we eat, we should also expect and demand dignity for the workers who tend and harvest it.”

Laxmi used her recent birthday as an excuse to throw a party, where she gave her friends and family the scoop about the need for better working and living conditions for those who tend, harvest and process our food.

You too can throw a Harvest party for farm workers! Just call us at (919) 833-8655, or email us, and we’ll send you a full party-planning packet (including recipe suggestions, a party checklist and film suggestions). Toxic Free NC staff will be there to help you make it a great event that can really help make a difference for farm workers in NC!

You can learn more about Harvest of Dignity, find recipes from local chefs and take action on our website. And check out the new campaign website: www.HarvestOfDignity.org.

Toxic Free News is a publication of Toxic Free NC.org
206 New Bern Place, Raleigh, NC 27601
(919) 833-5333, Toll-free 1-877-NO-SPRAY

Mission: Toxic Free NC advocates for alternatives to toxic pesticides in
North Carolina by empowering people to make sound decisions about
their health and environment.

Staff: Ana Duncan Pardo, Communications Coordinator; Billie Karel, Program Coordinator; Fawn Pattison, Executive Director; Ileana Rodriguez, Development Coordinator.

Interns: April Simon, Farm Worker Documentary; Laura Valencia, Women without Borders; Jordan Perry, Lindsay Herendeen, Abby Lowe, UNC Capstone.

Board of Directors: Colleen Boudreau, Treasurer; J.D. Doliner; Juan Echeverria; Ghassan Hamra; Laxmi Haynes; Mindy Hiteshue, President Elect; Cathy Jones; Michelle Nowlin, President; Katherine M. Shea; Allen Spalt. Emeritus Board Members: Billie Rogers; Jane Sharp MacRae; Erick Umstead.

Emeritus Board Members: Annie O'Leary, Billie Rogers, Jane Sharp MacRae, Erick Umstead.

Community Leadership Council: Melissa Bailey, Sandra Bailiff, Mary James, Anna Jensen, Silvia Peterson.